Dick Smith backs Bindi Irwin in Hillary Clinton essay row

Megan Mackander
Journalist
After completing a journalism degree at the University of the Sunshine Coast, I joined the Sunshine Coast Daily in 2010. As the Daily’s police reporter, the round is unprectible, diverse and challenging, but also exciting and is a dream position for me. In between heading to emergency incidents, I love getting the chance to write about amateur and professional theatre and the arts. I’ve also worked in various community roles at the Caboolture News, Buderim Chronicle and Caloundra Weekly. Having...

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TEEN wildlife warrior in one corner, one of the world's most powerful women in the other.

Bindi Irwin has earned the backing of "Mr Australia" Dick Smith in her essay editing stoush with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Bindi told The Daily yesterday she was excited to be asked to write a 1000-word essay on conservation for the former first lady's e-journal.

The passionate daughter of the late Steve Irwin used half of the words to speak of the urgency of addressing the human overpopulation, but when it was returned by Secretary Clinton's office for final approval, it had been cut dramatically and the traces of the topic were edited out.

The article was supposed to be published in the e-journal Go Wild Coming Together for Conservation as part of secretary Clinton's endangered species initiative. But Bindi said without a re-write she would prefer it did not go to print.

Dick Smith told The Daily he was "incredibly impressed" that a young girl at 14 was spruiking the messages of overpopulation.

Following in her father's footsteps to promote nature conservation and helping preserve the planet, Bindi had become increasingly passionate about the cause in recent years.

Bindi was inspired to explore the issues of human overpopulation after seeing Dick Smith's documentary, Population Puzzle.

"I haven't spoken to her yet, but I commend her and suggest she looks at the news comments on the...websites because 95 of the comments are positive.

"I am disappointed in the way journalists talk over her and edit out any comments she makes on this population growth issue. It's common sense what she is saying.

"Humans are at plague proportions using 1.5 more times the resources each year. We can't keep going on like this."

"I believe that most problems in the world today, such as climate change, stem from one immense problem, our ever expanding human population," she wrote.

Bindi said she had admiration for Secretary Clinton's conservation work, but was worried that she was being silenced on planet overpopulation.